Updated: December 14, 2020 1:06:37 pm
Sources said Church leaders are expected to meet with Prime Minister Modi soon with his complaints, including concerns about Muslim students getting more than 80 percent of minority scholarships and the “growing number of Christian girls attracted to Muslim boys “in Kerala’s version of” love jihad. “
After successfully launching the first stage of its campaign in Telangana and starting groundwork in Tamil Nadu, the BJP now wants to embark on its ambitious electoral project in Kerala: wooing the Christian community. While its attempts in the past had not yielded much, the party now wants to capitalize on the growing disenchantment among Christian leaders over the growing influence of Muslims in the congressional-led UDF in Kerala.
Sources said Church leaders are expected to meet soon with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his complaints, including concerns about Muslim students benefiting from more than 80 percent of minority scholarships and the ” growing number of Christian girls attracted to Muslim boys “in Kerala’s version of” loving jihad. “
The enthusiasm of Church leaders in exploring BJP support on these issues was evident in the presence of Cardinal George Alencherry, Senior Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, at a function Friday at Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, where the Governor Arif Mohammad Khan handed over to him a copy of ‘Justice for All, Prejudice for No One’, a book written by the Governor of Mizoram and former Chairman of the BJP Kerala unit, S Sreedharan Pillai, on various communities in Mizoram and Kerala.
In November, Church leaders invited Pillai to a dinner to discuss the community’s “complaints” on a number of issues, and sources said that she then agreed to convey the complaints to the Prime Minister. According to sources, Church leaders are expected to present a memorandum to the Prime Minister requesting his intervention in the “injustice” inflicted on the Christian community in the state.
“Church leaders have already conveyed to the BJP leadership their resentment over the distribution of scholarships for minority students. Judging by the population, he should receive 40 percent of the scholarship, but only half. They feel that justice is being denied them, ”said a Kerala BJP leader.
Why BJP is looking at Christian vows
The BJP faces a peculiar situation in Kerala, where more than 40 percent of the state’s population is made up of religious minorities. With Hindu votes split between the CPI-M-led LDF, the Congress-led UDF and the BJP, the Saffron party cannot rely solely on Hindu consolidation and needs to woo one of the two largest minority groups: Muslims. and Christians. – win elections. The latter appears to be an easier option for the BJP after failing to attract Muslim votes, and a section of the Christian leadership now voices concerns such as “loving jihad” and the possibility of demographic change.
The leaders have also cited a study to convey their concerns about a possible decline in community populations. According to the study by Professor KC Zachariah of the Center for Development Studies, by 2050, Muslims will make up 35 percent of the state’s population, while Christians will be reduced to half of the Muslim population.
The Church and a section of community leaders in Kerala, so far lenient with the Congress-led UDF in their political elections, have been uneasy about the growing influence of the Muslim League of Indian Union in the Congress-led UDF. Even the recent CPI-M-led LDF move to implement a 10 percent reservation in government jobs for the economically weaker section (EWS) among advanced communities was seen as an attempt to woo Christians outside the Congress: Church leaders had publicly praised the move, beneficial to the community.
The CPI-M, which has seen its base of support among Hindus erode because of its position in the Sabarimala line, is interested in making up for that lost ground by courting a section of Christians and Muslims who see the left as the force. that can stop the BJP from spreading its wings in Kerala. The CPI-M has recently welcomed the Congress of Kerala (Mani), a state party that considers itself endorsed by the Christian community, to the LDF. The measure could damage the UDF support base in the pockets, in the central and northern parts, where the community supports the KCM.
The BJP is also looking at the same thing: it wants to attract Christian votes while consolidating its Hindu support base. “The support of the Christian community is very important for the growth of the BJP in the state. In the past, our efforts to get some regional parties to join together could not be successful. We have to adopt new tactics to get support from the community. Our feedback is that the community is not willing to support the BJP, ”said a BJP secretary general.
Recent elections in the state have given no indication that the community’s voting preferences were heavily influenced by Church leaders.
In the ongoing local body elections, the BJP, which had made considerable progress in the 2015 elections, has put forward around 500 Christian candidates for panchayats, municipalities and corporations.
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